New NH Historical Highway Marker honors ‘Nottingham Square’

The N.H. Division of Historical Resources is pleased to announce that a New Hampshire Historical Highway Marker has been installed on Route 156 in Nottingham, the site of Nottingham Square.

The marker reads:

“Nottingham Square

“The Town of Nottingham was created by a Royal Charter in 1722. A plan of the town was completed in 1724; at that time the design of the Nottingham Square was laid out with the house lots and the intersecting streets of Bow, Fish, King and North. The town’s first school, blockhouse and later meetinghouse were built on this summit. The site of militia drills in 1775 and home to four Revolutionary War generals, Nottingham Square served as the center of the town’s business and social life for more than a century and remains common land for all.”

This is the first marker in Nottingham, and is the 259th installed in the state.

Any municipality, agency, organization or individual wishing to propose a historical highway marker to commemorate significant New Hampshire places, persons or events must submit a petition of support signed by at least 20 New Hampshire residents. They must also draft the text of the marker and provide footnotes and copies of supporting documentation, as well as a suggested location for marker placement.

New Hampshire’s historical highway markers illustrate the depth and complexity of our history and the people who made it, from the last Revolutionary War soldier to contemporary sports figures to poets and painters who used New Hampshire for inspiration; from 18th-century meeting houses to stone arch bridges to long-lost villages; from factories and cemeteries to sites where international history was made.

An interactive map of all of the state’s historical highway markers is available at the N.H. Division of Historical Resources’ website, nh.gov/nhdhr.

The New Hampshire Historical Highway Marker program is jointly managed by the N.H. Division of Historical Resources and N.H. Department of Transportation.